Turkish President Recep Tayyp Erdogan called on the international community to stop imposing sanctions on the Turkish Cypriots and to eliminate all forms of embargo, “to stop this tyranny once and for all”.
His speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday was hailed by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar as “historic”, stating that it is the first time such a report has been given to the international community.
At the UN General Assembly, Erdogan delivered a 30-minute speech ranging from issues related to Russian’s invasion of Ukraine to Israel and Palestine, but his comments on the Cyprus problem echoed statements issued by Tatar in the past.
“On this island there are two states and two different nations, and this should be accepted by all – it is the key for the solution to the problems on the island of Cyprus to accept that the Turkish Cypriots have equal and sovereign rights and that their international status is to be accepted,” he told the assembly.
The Turkish leader’s speech was warmly welcomed by Tatar and the north’s ‘foreign minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu on Wednesday.
Tatar said that history was made by Erdogan as he argued the north’s case at the general assembly and that the Turkish Cypriot nation thanks him.
“I hope that the international community will listen to Erdogan’s call on this matter, that the isolation and restrictions will be dropped [so] the path will be cleared for the TRNC to take its rightful place in the world,” Tatar said, referring to the north.
For his part, Ertugruloglu said that the speech shows that Cyprus is at turning point.
“These statements are a declaration towards the world that the formal recognition that two states exist that will live peacefully on the island of Cyprus is the only solution to the Cyprus problem,” the ‘foreign minister’ said.
“We expect the injustice done to the Turkish Cypriot people, who are being held hostage, to end as soon as possible,” Ertugruloglu concluded.
In his closing statements Erdogan said: “On the Cyprus problem, we want to reach a settlement once and for all, in a fair, permanent, just and sustainable way and we have always been working together with the [the north] for that to be possible.”
